Loyal Wolf (7 page)

As she would tonight, when she was supposed to pretend that she wasn't part of the team she had gotten in place here. Jock and Ralf might have heard her promise to stay away this time.

But she would use her own definition of staying away.

“Hi, Myra,” she said after a secretary at the commissioners' offices had gotten her on the line. “I hear there's a meeting tomorrow afternoon.”

“That's right,” Myra said. “I was going to contact you about it. You might want to attend. The main topic to be discussed is my proposal for the enactment of local laws to help enforce state regulations that protect wildlife and require the arrest of poachers.”

Passage of those laws locally should have been a no-brainer. They were simply following what was already enacted in the state.

But there were opponents on the commission.

And even more, the timing of the arrival of the first of the supposed sportsmen had begun just after Myra initially proposed enactment of the local law—right after Sheriff Chrissoula retired six months ago.

“Great. Not only will I be there to hear it, but I've been told I'll be on duty then, with other deputies, as well. I don't know about Tommy X, though.”

Silence on the other end. Then Myra said, “Your boss is anticipating some controversy, then.” It wasn't a question but a statement.

“Guess so, although I haven't talked to him directly.”

“Well, don't.” Myra, more than anyone, knew how much Kathlene hated conversations with her highest-up boss. “We'll be fine, especially with some of the best deputies in your department there keeping the peace. And you're definitely the best.”

“Thanks, Myra. We should grab a cup of coffee one of these days.” Should Kathlene tell her friend more about what she was up to? “I've got something in the works that just might help get your law passed. If nothing else, I'm checking out my theory that those guys who're showing up in town need to either get arrested or leave.”

“You're not doing anything foolish, are you, Kathlene?” Now Myra sounded worried.

Kathlene glimpsed her patrol car driven by Jimmy pulling up at the curb. “Gotta run,” she said. “And no, I'm not doing anything foolish. You know me better than that. See you tomorrow.”

She wondered, as she hurried to the car, what Myra would really think if she knew Kathlene had not only gotten the federal government involved, but a secret military unit that wouldn't reveal, even to her, what they were really about.

Chapter 7

T
hey were back at the cabin. After Jock and Ralf had returned, they'd taken Click for a walk around the motel area, saying hi to the few other guests and staff members they ran into.

The place seemed to be getting busier, but that was okay. They still maintained their extra cabin for Click, and his being seen with Jock now and then was a good thing.

Now they were inside, ready to report to their superior officer, Major Drew Connell of Alpha Force. He was at Ft. Lukman, and it was a couple of hours later there, nearly nine o'clock.

Drew didn't mind. The members of Alpha Force were sent all over the country and abroad for special assignments, and he'd made it clear to Jock that he expected periodic call-ins, no matter what the time.

Jock didn't have a lot to say...yet. But he knew it was time to make a call.

He motioned for Ralf to join him on the couch. Each had a bottle of water on the low table in front of them.

No more alcohol that day. Or that night. They still had something to accomplish after this call.

“Anything in particular you think we need to report?” Jock asked Ralf, then chugged some water from his bottle.

They discussed all they'd seen and heard in Clifford County so far, underscoring to one another what sounded most important. Then Jock took his phone from his pocket and keyed in the number for their commanding officer. He pressed the button that would put the call on speaker.

“Jock?” The major's voice sounded alert and interested. He was obviously using caller ID. “Ralf with you?”

“We're both here, Drew,” Jock responded. “Just wanted to give you a rundown of what we've learned so far, which isn't much.”

“Go ahead.”

Jock proceeded to relate all that had happened in the past couple of days, from Deputy Kathlene Baylor's showing up at the cabin she had reserved for them soon after he'd called to let her know they'd arrived, to the brief interchange with the guys at the bar that afternoon.

He stressed what they had done last night. Of course. It was the crux of why Alpha Force was involved. “I shifted into wolf form and prowled outside the enclosed area,” he told Drew. “Ralf stayed at the deserted house where I'd changed. I was able to find some potentially vulnerable points of entry into the encampment but I mostly stayed in the surrounding forest using all my senses just to orient myself. I'll be going back tonight, once we're done talking, to do a bit more digging.”

“Anybody see you shifted?” Drew asked.

“I'm pretty sure none of the hunters or whoever they are inside the fence did, but Deputy Baylor did.”

He didn't mention that he had told the stubborn woman to stay away from them, nor did he tell his commanding officer that the deputy now believed she was an integral part of their team. Jock had to deal with all of that in the best way he could. Kathlene's proclivity for involving herself was his problem, not Drew's. He could deal with it, although he might avail himself of Ralf's help now and then.

What he also hoped he could deal with—no, he
would
deal with it—was his attraction to the strong, determined and completely frustrating woman.

“We diffused any concerns she might have about seeing a wolflike dog at the site by introducing her to Click,” he added. He didn't tell Drew that she appeared to be fond of canines. That was irrelevant.

“And those men at the bar—you think they're among those hanging out at that site, the possible anarchists?”

“Maybe,” Jock said. “We started to foster a good relationship with them, although how good remains to be seen.”

“Carry on, then.” Drew paused. “Oh, and Jock?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Be damned careful—but do a good job. We need to maintain our stellar reputation.”

“We will. Count on it.”

His affirmative reply was seconded by Ralf.

The two men grinned at each other as they hung up. But then Ralf's expression faded. “You think there's a problem with Alpha Force's reputation?” he asked.

“Not with Drew in charge.”

Every member of Alpha Force knew the covert unit's background. It was started a few years back by Drew, who was a shifter. He had begun developing the extraordinary elixir that helped shapeshifters change not only during the full moon, but at any time they chose, as well. Not only that, they could also keep their human mind, and knowledge, intact while in shifted form.

The unit consisted of shifters from wolves to lynxes to hawks. It also included aides for each of them.

Not to mention their cover animals, as close to the others' shifted forms as Click was to Jock's.

The unit's operations had occurred all over the U.S. and occasionally elsewhere, and had involved rooting out terrorists, including some who had intended to create biological weapons, and others who had aimed to destroy glaciers much faster than global warming and effect all the harm that could involve.

It was definitely a covert unit, and yet Drew and his operatives always kept their eyes peeled for other shifters they could recruit.

Like Jock himself had been about a year ago.

He hadn't regretted it. Not for a moment.

He had mostly worked with other Alpha Force operatives before. This was his first assignment in which he was the sole shifter, in charge of initial surveillance and determination if more Alpha Force members were needed to stop any harm from being inflicted on people or this country.

He definitely would perform as Drew had commanded—and do a good job.

“Let's get ready,” he finally said to Ralf, who was playing with Click. “We need to put him in his cabin and then head for that deserted house again. I intend to learn a lot more about what goes on beyond that fence tonight.”

Jock thought about Kathlene. He didn't feel guilty at all about leaving her out of whatever was to occur. This time he had even told her to butt out, though he would do as promised and include her as part of their team. Whenever he could. Whenever it wasn't too dangerous for her.

For tonight at least, team member or not, she was safe.

* * *

Kathlene drove a circuitous route toward the back of the fenced-in compound, lights turned off, then parked off-road so her car couldn't be seen from what passed as a partially paved lane way off in the forest.

This time she'd had plenty of time to change out of her uniform. Tonight she wore a long-sleeved knit shirt and jeans, both black. So were her athletic shoes. Unlike when she was on duty, she hadn't clipped her long hair behind her head. Its dark color might even help hide the lightness of her facial skin, in case anyone happened to glance in her direction.

She stared into the blackness of the forest and saw nothing. That was good. It meant she was unlikely to be seen, too.

She sat motionless for a few minutes, going over plans in her mind.

She had once again hung out near that old hovel of a house, observing from a distance as the two men went in, but only the dog came out. She hadn't seen Click at first, but they were clearly relying on him to observe what was going on at the nearby enclosed ranch.

And then she had carefully slipped away and driven here.

By being there, she wasn't disobeying orders. Sexy but annoying Jock Larabey might be in charge of Ralf Nunnoz and whatever he was doing here, but he wasn't in charge of her. He wasn't her superior officer, and he had no authority to tell her what to do.

And extorting her cooperation by telling her when she was, and wasn't, a member of his team, simply didn't work.

She cracked her window just a bit. A light breeze was blowing. She heard a couple of owls hooting not far away. No other wildlife, though.

And no Click barking anywhere around. Not that a dog as well trained as he seemed to be would be making noise when he shouldn't.

Jock had told her that Ralf and he—or apparently just Click again—would be conducting some kind of surveillance at the old ranch once more that night. She wasn't sure what that would accomplish, unless the group centered there had decided to conduct an exercise under cover of darkness. Did they ever do that? Maybe.

They at least practiced the use of different kinds of weapons, although the muted explosions she'd heard a few weeks ago had been late in the day, but not nighttime.

She didn't really know what they did, though, except act secretive and threatening while pretending to be nice guys off to practice hunting skills. As sportsmen.

As they planned some nasty uses in the future of the weapons they tested now...? That was her fear.

But hanging out here tonight was likely to be fruitless, just as last night had been.

Still, if Jock decided that Alpha Force would check the compound out again that night, then so would she.

She hated doing everything in near total darkness, but fortunately, in the area where she was now, the trees weren't quite as close together so there was a little illumination from the stars overhead.

Lovely to see them this way, the constellations and all. The moon was only a sliver, so it didn't provide much light, but she loved looking up in the sky toward the stars.

Not that she dared do that very much. She had more important things to watch.

For now she would just stay in this area and conduct her own little bit of surveillance.

If she didn't see anything, she would carefully move toward where she had first seen Click maneuvering around the compound last night.

Surely she could glean more information than a dog could. Or even if she couldn't compete with its superior senses, she could certainly verbally divulge a lot more than a canine could.

Unless...she hadn't asked, but maybe they had equipped the dog with some kind of camera or other recording equipment. That would make sense.

And if she was part of the team, they should not only tell her but also show her what had been filmed.

She could take some shots herself. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, held it down so any illumination wouldn't be visible outside her car and reset it so it showed no lights—but would nevertheless take pictures.

No other kinds of shots, though. Not tonight. She purposely left her Glock in the glove compartment of her car.

She wasn't here as a deputy, but as a curious and concerned citizen.

But now it was time. She cautiously opened the door of her vehicle, prepared to get out quickly, even though she'd turned off the interior lights, too. This far from the fencing no one was likely to see her, anyway, but just in case...

She slid out fast and pushed the door closed, careful not to make any slamming sounds. Then she stood still for a few minutes to orient herself.

The air smelled tangy and moist, as if humidity was hovering, determining when a rain shower should begin to pummel the earth.

She heard nothing now, not owls or anything else. It was time to draw closer to the perimeter of the compound. And watch for Click, who would probably be circling the whole thing.

She had done a bit of surveillance before trying to enlist help from the federal government, but she hadn't done this.

Nor had she been competing to convince anyone to keep her involved. She had, back then, been the only one who'd tried to do anything.

And now, if she was lucky, she would get a lot more useful stuff than the dog did. Show Jock that she was an important part of the team.

Show Jock that—

“Hands up, lady.” The voice that growled at her was off to her side, and she was suddenly bathed in so much light that she was blinded and couldn't see its source. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I was just—” she stammered.

“Don't matter. You're coming with me.”

* * *

Damn!

While preparing to sneak in through a particularly vulnerable and worn area of fencing, Jock had caught the scent of Kathlene in the distance
.

The woman was impossible. Never listened
.

Always put herself in danger
.

And once he had loped in her direction in his shifted form, careful to stay hidden in the trees, he had seen that she had been captured
.

The man who had found her kept a gun trained on her back. He marched her toward a nearby gate in the fence—one that had been secured and was not a potential entry point for Jock. He watched as Kathlene was forced to go through the gate and onto the fenced-in site
.

He tore back to one of the vulnerable areas he had located before, where the chain-link fencing had apparently been hit by a car or otherwise damaged. There was enough of a gap that a canine could squeeze through it
.

He did
.

He looked around cautiously, engaged all his senses to ensure that there were no humans nearer than those now congregating around Kathlene and the man who had captured her
.

He knew how to help her—maybe. And then only if she was astute enough to follow his lead
.

Too bad he hadn't come with a collar and leash to further resemble the dog who was his cover. But he would improvise, and so, he hoped, would Kathlene
.

Assuming a submissive position, he all but crawled on his stomach, using all four legs
.

As he maneuvered, he listened to the conversation. Rather, the way Kathlene was being chewed out and threatened
.

“
Why the hell are you here?” “Ain't you a deputy sheriff?” “You don't belong here. We don't like snoops.” “Tell us what you want here.” “Let's just shoot the nosy bitch. No one will ever know
.
”

Jock wanted to growl. To attack. But his human mind overshadowed his wild-animal instincts. Instead, he just continued to draw himself closer
.

“
What's that dog doing here?” he heard one of the men say
.
“That's no dog. It's a wolf
.
”